News Books

This book was a lot of fun for the kids. They learned a lot about the geographic location of the states. The item arrived in excellent condition and in a very short time.

Found this book by accident, but it was a very interesting book for that age group. I would recommend it.

This book is such and adorable addition to any personal or classroom library! As a soon to be teacher, I would certainly use this adorable book to supplement a geography lesson or a lesson on the states. An absolute must have for any children's/classroom library!

Okay, call me a sucker for any book that teaches while it entertains. This book excels at both. The premise is that, in the middle of the night, the state of New York woke up from a dream and shouted to all the other states, "HEY, EVERYONE--LET'S HAVE A TALENT SHOW!" And so they did. And what a rompus, good time was had by all. There's plenty of over-the-top humor, song ditties, and corny jokes (thank you, Iowa!), but it's the illustrations that kept me enthralled. This book is so visually appealing, that I'd have turned to its pages again and again, even if it only said "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!" I'm guessing your wee ones who can't read will find it equally addicting. Maybe you'll get lucky and overhear them making up the story themselves.

I love Laurie Keller's books, especially The Scrambled States of America. She was partially my inspiration when I was writing The Little Man In the Map. The Little Man In the Map: With Clues To Remember All 50 States
Books like these can spark an interest in learning more about this wonderful country and the world.

guess im just gonna put this out there...
michael, i never knew you but you were so special and i know that now. i know steven and i know he didnt mean what he felt and now he feels so guilty but he shouldn't should he?
i wish i could have knwn you but after reading your book and meeting everyone who loved you i feel like your my friend.
and your dream will come true. i just know it and its all going to be because of you.

I love this book~ I ordered it from his website in 2001 and his story has totally inspired me to make a difference and has turned my life around, I now aspire to become a pediatric oncologist. I think this book is great for all ages! There are alot of facts but it wasn't confusing at all... I totally understood what was going on. I especially recommend this book to teenagers not neccesarily with a health problem but because these days, teenagers need a positive role model in life and Michael a great role model to follow! This book talks about various stages throughout his cancer and it has a lot of personal feelings and family reactions. This book ends with Michael triumphantly winning his struggle as you may be familiar. I honestly think that is will inspire anyone! He is very much my hero~ Even with his tragic death, I still consider him #1. He is the world's greatest...

I truely do believe this is one of the best books ever written. You can see right into Michael's life as he struggles with cancer, which threatens to kill him many times. The book is set up in a "diary" format, with actual exerpts from his grandmother's diary. At the end of the book, there are lyrics to Michael's songs on his solo CD (purchase at [internet address]) as well as the thoughts/situations that inspired him to compose each song. There are a lot of rare pictures in here, too. The book is not all sad cancer stuff, though. You also read about his life as a singer/actor and his "normal" school life. The book ends on a happy note that he is finally recovered, but unfortunately, that isn't how Mike's story ends. He died of complications in January of 2000. This is a wonderful story of a heroic boy who would do anything to help the world. I recommend it wholeheartedly! This book is good if you are a fan of Michael (or 2Gether) or even if you just want to learn about cancer -- the book discusses the different medicines/treatments/etc.

I think this book is great, it tells about his life and how much of a brave person he was or is. If you are a 2Gether fan or just a Michael Cuccione fan then you need to own this book.

"Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; but only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay."
Robert Frost

This is far most the most heart warming book I've ever read! I have read it many times and I still cry I cried for Michael on the day of his death, I remembered back when my friends and I had backstage passes to see them and Britney Spears I was 15 at the time and now I'm soon to be 17, I remember how sweet and caring he was and so funny he remined me of my little brother who sadly passed away two years before Michael, My little brother would be 13 this year, I still can't believe that they are gone but I still remember that their not really gone they are still here with is in our hearts and I hope that you will go out and buy this book because it will bring you closer to Michael, God Bless You Michael and Brian! we will be 2get+her again!

Love Always and Forever,
Lindsey McCartney

Ordered same book from three different vendors - one came within a week, one in two weeks, the last in four weeks. All arrived in good shape.

Wonderful experience. Seller worked out all the details with me and I was so pleased with the purchase. Would definitely refer others to him and also buy from him again. Thanks so much.

Pictures. These will remind you. Haunting. Sad. Heart wrenching. Moving. These words won't do it for you. The book will give you more. Over 3000 people died that day. This book will help you to never forget what happened to them and us.

The point comes across, but I think there is plenty of other work that should have been included.

A message to each and every reviewer who takes time to add thoughts to a any media of memorial of 9/11, World Trade Center Towers tragedy... thank you from my heart.

My spouse and I resided on the Lower West Side, Battery Park City, Gateway Plaza, So. End Ave. As survivors of the 9/11 World Trade Center Towers tragedy... From our Gateway Plaza apartment, facing the street and 300 yards from the Towers, we helplessly witnessed all from our apartment windows. The closeness of the Towers viewed from our windows - gave an illusion that one could reach out and touch the Towers; their beauty with night lights reaching toward the sky promoted a contemplative emotion.

We viewed the planes entering the Towers, the overwhelming inferno, individuals jumping, the collapse of the Towers, the darkness as debris hit our windows with a fury. What occurred over a period of hours, seemed like a much shorter time span. The darkness was darker than an eclipse, darker than the darkest night; and then a momentary hush after the air cleared. Viewing the roof garden one floor below, with the human reaction of looking out to see if someone might be on that roof garden and in need of help. Debris strewn everywhere, recording tape and paper hung from the trees of the garden and oh, so much ash. The momentary hush, whether real or imagined, then the viewing of debris for a second, fantasized that a parade had just passed by on our short street. I now really understand the expression a "feeling of helplessness", I couldn't fix what had just happened.

We vacated our apartment finally at 5:15 p.m. that day, waiting for someone to knock on our door, with only a battery radio to keep us abreast of happenings. "In a New York minute", we evacuated via the stairwell touched with ash, the result of a first floor door left open. With a few belongings, gathered with a tad of thought of what was being left behind, we stepped out of the door onto the pavement, seeing and standing in ever so much ash & debris, I wanted to turn around and go back to our home. It was one moment of reality in time, I carry to this day.

We planned to walk up the East Side, glimpsed the tired fire, police, volunteers, and med techs in our immediate driveway and street, so instead opted to pass through the building in back of the apartment complex. We gained access to the Esplanade walking the short distance to reach the Hudson River North Cove dock. We were escorted to the New Jersey shore via New York Police boat. From the boat deck, we viewed even more damage to the Manhattan skyline, especially noting the zigzag shape of the side of the American Express building, housed in one of the World Financial Center buildings along with the glorious Winter Garden, as well as the fall of World Trade Center Building 7. We were taken to the Jersey City Hospital, attended to by compassionate staff. Then traveled by National Guard truck to Hoboken, NJ where we were housed by a wonderful family who with great trust welcomed strangers to their home.

On Friday 9/14, our eldest son & daughter-in-law drove from New Hampshire via New Jersey routes to Hoboken for transport us to New Hampshire for temporary residence with our daughter, who along with her friend and our youngest son, greeted us with open arms & the overwhelming feeling of not wanting to let go with each hug that followed. Our daughter and son had spent that Friday in New Hampshire collecting items of clothing and necessities which the Concord community generously opened their hearts and donated by churches, stores, individuals, employers, American Red Cross, et al.

One of our grandchildren -- he was 8 at that time - arrived home from a few days with his Dad. He hugged us so tight, understanding the depth of 9/11 events for someone so young and yet so wise. He told Grandpa & Babcia that he had something for them... his Mom was not even aware of his gift. He had spoken to his classmates about his grandparents' closeness in location of the World Trade Center Towers. Presented to us was a large envelope full of hand-made cards from each of his classmates. And if that isn't love and caring, I don't know what is - from the hearts and minds of children!

Residing now in New Hampshire, not because of 9/11 drove us away, but circumstances just went that way as we continue to put our lives into perspective.

We Miss - New York City deeply; events found nowhere else in the USA, the introduction to & interaction with so many wonderful cultures. There isn't a day or night over these years that we do not think of 9/11... the Lady of Liberty & Ellis Island both on the merge of the East and Hudson Rivers. And that Lady of Liberty wept, I just know it, & still stands with pride that the USA is a democracy that will prevail.

We Remember - the victims, the survivors, their friends and families, the workers from the public and private sector, the volunteers, our neighbors in Gateway Plaza and staff in the small group of stores on South End Avenue, Battery Park City.

We Remember - the places we visited, the book signings attended, the celebrities we met, the concerts and theater plays, the movies, the arts, the parks, the strangers we talked with, on streets, on subway and those while standing in line for an event...

We Remember - Always In Our Hearts, Forever In Our Souls, Heroes, Victims, Survivors One and All... We Were There.

Painfully, the lump in my throat and the twist in my stomach, the tears in my eyes and the pain in my heart, to the depth of my soul, forever reside.

Owning a copy of Magnetize YOur Heart's Desire is like
having Scherazade on your bookshelf. Sharon Warren has gathered stories from myth, Masters, and her own experience to reveal and remind us in a thousand ways that
we have astonishing power to invent and improve our own lives. The Arabian queen Scherazade told a story every night to save her life. Sharon's stories preserve THE READER'S LIFE by helping to make them joyous and worth living. The ancient wisdoms and expanding truths of the power of thought, filtered through Sharon's exuberant personality are never weighty or solemn. The book is studded with fun graphics like shooting stars, flying birds and sailing ships. Everytime I read it, it works a
deeper level of magic into my consciousness. For people with an open mind the book is an Open Seseme.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sharon Warren's approach to manifesting through the Law of Attraction. Her stories and humor added massive weight to the demonstration of how we do bring both positive and negatives into our life, most often without conscious effort.

I have put several of the suggestions in the book into action, and have been reaping the rewards. I love this book! I sat around waiting for the Universe to grant my wishes for far too long. Thanks for the wake up call, Sharon.

As a Life Coach in Ottawa Canada and Louisville Kentucky, I have read and used many different books on the Law of Attraction. I must say that I so enjoyed this book that I have recommended it to my clients and ran book studies with three different groups on it.
It was enthusiastically received by everyone. Sharon's humour and unique approach to demonstrating the LOA with rare earth magnets brings her teaching to life and makes the book an absolute JOY to read. I cannot recommend it more highly.
Thanks Sharon for sharing your energy and wit!

I loved this book! It was such fun to read. Sharon allowed her creativity to open wide in developing this book. Her magnetizing concepts were excellent, fun to read, and practical. Great job! I highly recommend this book for anyone who feels "stuck." Karin Janin, author of "Magic of Intention"

This is a wonderful, powerful, and high-energy book that will certainly change your life. Sharon Warren does an excellent job of explaining the law of attraction and how to use it to your benefit. If you want to write your own life script, she gives you the tools to do that. I have a beautiful baby boy, who manifested the very month that I read this book! Thank you Sharon for this marvelous gem - the book and the baby! Postive thoughts and to quote Sharon Warren - "Shine on!"

Read it twice 20 years ago, bought it as a gift for others before even finishing it, bought it again as a gift last month and re-read it again. An absolute delight all three times. Thank you, Mr. Saint!

it's been over a decade since I read this and can't justify giving it 5 when it's been so long. That said, I enjoyed this quite a bit as I recall. What makes this a good read is that it is about an ordinary guy finding himself in an unbelievable scenario and how he faces the challenges. Many authors would be tempted to turn Joe Schmo instantly into James Bond or any other fantasy hero with all the smarts and moves. Fortunately, Saint avoids this and presents us with a story that we can almost believe is fact, not fiction. This is actually more a review of the film than the book. If you've seen the abomination of a film citing this novel as the source material and thought it was good, you should probably pass on giving this a read. Much like Bonfire of the Vanities, this was horribly miscast and butchered. How this ever fell into the hands of John Carpenter and Chevy Chase, I'll never understand. Someone else mentioned that Harrison Ford would have been better cast as the central character and I think that's pretty much dead on but the screenplay would have to have been trashed and put in the hands of someone who wanted to create something that actually represented the original and also in the hands of a more capable director. John Carpenter may be good at what he does but he was way out of his depth with this and was probably incapable of controlling Chase. Bottom line, the books very good if not great and the movie is a huge disappointment that really sucks.

Clever, exciting and witty sums up this book. I wasn't expecting much but Saint does a great job of making his protanginst and his dilemma all seem quite real.

Edgy, nail-biting, darkly humorous, sexy, paranoid, and brilliant speculation about what life might be like for a man who is accidentally turned invisible.

This is light-years better than any of the many other recent attempts to build stories on this theme, from books and TV to films, and sadly including the distinctly average Chevy Chase comedy which was actually inspired by this book.

The narrator and central character is Nick Halliwell, a 34-year old, single, securities analyst working for a New York firm, who is completely ordinary except perhaps for an overactive sex drive. As part of his campaign to seduce a beautiful New York Times journalist called Anne Epstein, Nick invites her to a demonstration by a company called MicroMagnetics of their new type of magnetic fields.

Unfortunately Anne has cartoonishly stereotypical left-wing/liberal views. She decides that the magnetic fields must be intended for nuclear fusion containment, and tips off a buch of lunatics called "Students for a Fair society" about the event. These idiots decide to stage the other sort of demonstration, which includes cutting off power to the building.

As Nick puts it later, he should have paid more attention to what the students were about to do and what effect this might have on the process which the head of the company describes.

"I knew that someone was about to shut off power to the building ... And this man was telling me that he had some loopy subatomic process roaring away, which sustained itself but whose control system used outside power. It is important to listen to exactly what people are saying ..."

Shortly afterwards Nick is in the toilet when the building is evacuated as someone realises what the students are about to do: perversely ignoring a security guard who asks if anyone is there, he remains in the building and consequently is still inside when the control system has its power cut off, and the equipment blows up, turning everything else inside the building invisible.

Nick is knocked out by the effect. He comes to his senses a few hours later, and realises that he has been turned invisible, by which time government investigators are looking at the building. He calls out to the nearest investigator, expecting them to offer help, and is astonished when the man speaks into his radio and even as he promises medical help, Nick can see that an ambulance and some paramedics are being told to leave. Then the investigators come towards the building with a net. Nick realises that they see him more as an invaluable asset than as another human being, and falling into their hands might be a very bad idea ...

The main plot of the story is about the determined efforts which the investigators, led by the horrible Colonel Jenkins, make to capture Nick, and Nick's equally determined attempts to stay out of their custody. The sub-plot is that invisibility does not affect Nick's considerable libido, and he misses female companionship more than anything else about his situation. And as if it were not difficult enough for an invisible man to find love, any attempt Nick makes to do so is almost certain to offer new opportunities for Colonel Jenkins to catch him.

The dramatic tension in the book is sometimes unbearably strong, and there are some very exciting action sequences: there are also some moments of extreme pathos and some hysterically funny or embarrassing scenes.

Contains a lot of speculation, much of it highly plausible, about how other human beings might react to an invisible person. He is still solid, still needs food, water, sleep & shelter, and has to open doors to pass through them, so he cannot avoid leaving evidence that a person is around. Some people confronted with evidence of Nick's presence assume he's a ghost, or that a burglar has been and gone, but other people who become aware of him react in much more dangerous ways.

"Memoirs of an invisible man" is one of the best novels I have ever read. As I prepare to post this I see that the number of Amazon.com reader reviews is now up to 64 and 62 including mine are five-stars, which must be almost unprecedented. But the book really is that good.

I first read this book almost 20 years ago, and remember at the time recommending it to everyone I knew who loved books. They recently had a re-run of the dreadful film ( movie) of this great book, which prompted me to get my 15 year old daughter to read it - she loved it!

ps anyone ever find out who actually was H.F Saint?

I started out with Goodman's Sunsigns, but as soon as I discovered Debbi's stargazer secrets, I was hooked on the details of all our planets & how they influence our many facets of life. Thoroughly entertaining, brimming with insight & knowledge. Which is obvious from all the other reviews endorsing the same!!. My '84 edition was falling apart until the REVISED EDITION came out in '99.

I came online because I can't seem to find it in Montreal & decided to get 3 because it is a perfect gift to suit anyone who has a even a slight interest in astrology.

This was the one of the first astrology books I ever bought (back in 1983) and is the most fun way for any beginner to learn about astrology. Her incredibly creative and innovative way of describing the planets made it more fun than any textbook. Her laugh-out-loud descriptions still stick in my mind to this day. If you're getting into astrology, you'll be completely hooked after reading this. An absolute keeper for your personal library!

Secrets Froma A Stargazer's Notebook is a delight to read! It was recommendet by my Astrology lecturer and I am glad I got it.
Looking at my chart and listening to the teachings things seemed to become more confusing than clear. With the witty, easy to understand and funny Stargazer's Notebook it all makes sense. Slowly, but surely I get to know myself and am amzed that anybody could write a book about such a complex subject in a form not only easy to read but great to memorize!
A must for all who want to become involved in Astrology!

This is one of the most complete and entertaining astrology books. It's filled with useful information whether you're learning about your own astrological chart or analysing someone else's.

As a psychic who uses astrology, I've read dozens -- perhaps hundreds -- of astrology books.

This is the only one I recommend for every level, beginner through advanced, and this book is always on my desk or next to it, for frequent reference.

The writing style is witty and light. Chapter titles include, "Fire Signs, Air Signs, Jell-o and Dirt Signs," and "Venus - Sleazy Sex and Eternal Love."

However, the information in this book is accurate and easy to understand, no matter what your background.

In addition, the author has put together one of the most valuable chapters, ever, "How to Read a Chart in Less than Five Minutes." That's an innovative approach... and it works!

With over 500 fascinating pages of facts, charts, and insights, this is one astrology book you'll read from cover to cover, and refer to often.

This is the best astrology book I've ever read. I can read it like a story book and it holds my interest from cover to cover. Debbi, you rock and you need to write more. You're hilarious, and just plain brilliant.

This book is also one that I praise. The author has done a remarkable job telling his true story of being watched over and protected by a very dear departed friend. This book leaves you really wondering if the spirit of someone you once knew could actually be watching over you now, too. This book also makes you aware that there is indeed something greater after death.

I got this book 10 years ago and it was so moving that, after 10 years, I remember all the details. I don't cry much from reading, but I really cried tears of joy from the inspiration in this book and even tears of empathy for the initial grief. Definitely a story that will (and should) challenge some of the misconceptions we have about suicide!

Joel shares his very personal experiences with you the reader in an unbiased way so that you can think for yourself and come to your own conclusions regarding his extraordinary experiences. He has fulfilled a great purpose in providing a great source of hope for all people in the face of pain, suffering and loss. This is a very uplifting read that will make you think and hopefully, do your own research into life after life. I especially appreciate that Joel was thoughtful enough to include a photo of Albert, his beautiful friend. Thanks Joel for this important work!

I would like to share with the readers my experience with this book "Signals". For quite some time, i have had unexplained psychic experiences (signals) with my loved ones that have passed on. I wasn't quite sure why i was receiving signals until i read Joel's book. It was like a light bulb went on, the BIG AH HA! Everything seemed to make sense. I even wrote to Joel, and we've become great friends for many years now. I've recently had the honor of meeting him and i have to say, he's the read deal! He is the most genuinely spiritual person i've ever met! Please read this book. It is incredible! Jane

This is the first time that I have been moved enough by a book to actually take the time to write a review. I have lost so much because of the devistation of the AIDS epidemic. It is so easy to give up and feel sorry for ones self. Joel made me see the hope and joy even in the most tragic moments of my life. I felt his love on every page.
This book is a gift. If you feel hopeless-this book is for you. If you have lost someone close to you-this book can help you through this time of grief. It helped me to overcome the cold fear and overwhelming sadness that had been my constant companions for too long.
Please read this book-it can change the way you see the world and bring some light into even the darkest and gloomiest corners of your soul

Do you need any new ideas for practical designs? How about when something is wrong with your business and you cannot put your finger on it? Did you ever need to brainstorm but not have anyone else around? Have you ever been stuck with writer's block and for the life of you could not get back to work? In other words, have you ever been stuck with any mental problem that you felt that you cannot solve? If this is the case I think you should have a look at Michael Michalko's latest book, Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques.

Thinkertoys is a great play on words - anyone who grew up in the United States playing with Tinker Toys would not have a hard time remembering the name of this book. But beyond the title, Michael Michalko has done better than a yeoman's job of cataloguing tried and true techniques and exercises that work individually and for groups. Not a left brained person you say? You don't need to be. Not a right brained person? Again, you don't need to be. These tools that Michael Michalko provides puts you in a position that the outcome will be the product of great creative thinking as long as you actually do the thinker work that goes along with the exercise. The entire book pushes the reader to think outside of his or her comfort zone when solving problems, creating ideas, etc. Some of these tools I have already been working on and implementing myself. Let me give you an example...

In addition to my other work I recently have become a monthly columnist with a magazine where I give advice based upon my knowledge and experience. But to be a columnist is very difficult in a way because you have to remain fresh - the material much be both focused and new every issue. Many regular columnists (and bloggers) use different methods to do this. For instance, Jack Welch actually goes on Twitter and asks followers to send him interesting questions or problems. As such I turned to Michalko's book and found an exercise that really helped to generate ideas for the column. (If you want to know specifically which tool this was contact me through my website and I will give a full explanation). Because of this tool though I not only found enough ideas, but rather more than enough ideas. I have now written several columns in advance for the magazine and am pretty much finished with the entire year's work. This is the kind of result you can get from sitting down and working with Thinkertoys - I can personally attest!

Also, Michael Michalko has a related product called Thinkpak: A Brainstorming Card Deck. I went out to my local bookstore and bought this card set. It is a great companion to Thinkertoys because each card is directly related to a principle or tool in Thinkertoys. So I carry this card deck with me now along with a list of issues I need to resolve when I travel. Sometimes I pull this book or these cards out because I have work to do and sometimes I do it because, dammit, it is just a good workout for the old noggin!

It's fun to read this and let the juices flow in your brain. Just like being a kid again. Too bad my past bosses never read this. Probably why I don't have a job again. Gets me in to trouble to think outside the box and use creativity.

Great in tandem with "Cracking Creativity". I respect Mr. Michalko's work. I was flooded with ideas. I refer to these books all the time. I highly recommend.

This book and the Thinkertoys flashcard pack are useful in SO MANY different problem solving contexts! Must read!

"Thinkertoys" by Michael Michalko is a good challenge to anyone who wants to improve creative thinking or creativity in general.

The book consists of 39 chapters and is separated into 3 main sections:

1. Linear ways of applying creativity - add or make different structures to existing information.
2. Intuititve ways of applying creativity - generating new information using insight, imagination, and intuition.
3. Brainstorming for ideas

The book will definitely challenge you to look at solutions to problems from different angles and to not necessarily limit yourself to what you see and what the obvious solution could be.

There are at least 30 techniques you may use to improve your creativity and the author encourages you to apply each technique. "Thinkertoys" is definitely not the kind of book you will read once and put down, never to read again. Rather, you will need to periodically refer to the book to remind you of the many different ways to apply creative thinking.

Granted, I read this book mainly to get an idea of how to improve my creativity and did not painstakingly go through each chapter in detail. However, I have enough interest in the title to read it again sometime in the future.

Whatever your vocation - sales, management, ministry, homemaker, technician, lawyer, assembly-line worker, or whatever - "Thinkertoys" is a good and challenging read.

Recommended.

WOW! What a well written book. My emotions were all over the chart with this one, until I think it was the cause of a upset stomach I experienced. When a writer can drive it home to that degree, he/she has done their job.

The reviews that were given, I too have to agree, it was thought provoking, page turner, you wanted more, you felt the pain and the hurt. You wanted to strike out and attack. WOW!!! I love being apart of the action. Please read this book.

First of all, this book is a difficult book to read, not because of the writing style but the subject matter itself. It tells the story of physical, verbal and emotional childhood abuse. Hy-lo is Kenzie's and Malcolm's father, and I use the term "father" very loosely because he is everything a father should never be. He is a controling, raging alcoholic who takes out his insecurities on his wife and children. "The Warmest December" is a work of fiction but, unfortunately, the story happens all too often in the real world. As Hy-lo lies dying in a hospital, Kenzie sits by his side recalling flashbacks from the past, the pain, the suffering and the horror. In the end, she discovers that her father's childhood was one similar to her own - the cyle continued. However, she does find forgiveness and in doing so, sets herself free to reclaim her life.

The only reason the book lost a star was the plot. It was not a novel one and can be found in many other books, both fiction and memoir. On the positive side, the book was a real page-turner and kept the reader on the edge of their seat from start to finish. Also recommended by the same author is, "Camilla's Roses."

This book explicitly details the negative and dark world of alcoholism and the abuse associated with it. The author is very detailed with different abuse incidents and as the reader you feel your are right there witnessing it yourself. However, this book was far too depressing for me. Mc Fadden is one of my favorite authors but I can't say this was one of my favorite books.

Kenzie Lowe is the adult daughter of an abusive alcoholic father, Hyman Lowe, called Hi-Lo throughout the book. She has grown up to be an alcoholic herself and, after starting out with a promising career because her grandmother Mabel helped her escape to boarding school, she has thrown it all away and finds herself living again in the projects with her mother Della. They are now on welfare and Kenzie is 6 months into a recovery program. Her father is laying in a hospital dying of liver disease, and she is forced to confront a painful past that she has been trying to run from for so many years.

It's just as Kenzie said, though; no matter where she went, she saw Hi-Lo, in may different colors and social statuses, so she was never truly far from home in her own mind. An incredible journey of a woman who must not only relive the pain of a man who broke ribs, killed a beloved cat, made Kenzie use white towels for showering after discovering her interest in boys, and was almost directly responsible for brother Malcolm's death among other tragic situations, but must learn if she can forgive the man responsible for ruining so many lives in order to win her own personal war.

This book runs a gamut of emotions. There is anger, shock, sadness, disbelief, and sometimes touches of warm humor that make the topic of alcoholism and abuse, though nothing new, an experience that is eye opening and sobering as if for the very first time. A highly recommended read, no matter what your life's experiences are.

Dreams in the Golden Country / 0-590-02973-8

It seems I like all the Dear America books, and this one is no exception. Although I read them for myself, and these books are certainly entertaining and interesting for adults, I try to review them as a parent would, to allow the concerned parent to understand what their child is reading.

The Good: Although I was expecting something a little more along the lines of "The Jungle" and a little less along the lines of "Fiddler on the Roof", this book does manage to neatly encapsulate the life of an immigrant to America in the early 1900s. The author skims briefly over their stay at Ellis islands, the perfunctory and frightening medical exams, and the cramped apartment living that waits them in the new world. This is dealt with in a light vein, and the overall tone is never dim or depressing. The life of the family is never terribly hard - the mother starts a sewing business more to stay occupied than to bring in money, and the father is offered a position at the local university teaching violin. Because the "immigrant hardships" are toned down so much (slightly to my disappointment, but it is a children's book, after all), the conflict in the book comes from the social changes within the family - one daughter becomes involved in unions and suffrage activities, another daughter romances and marries a non-Jewish boy, the father slowly stops following the Orthodox manner of dress and grooming, to the mother's horror and consternation. As the family is absorbed into this new culture, they have to decide - reminiscent of Fiddler on the Roof - which traditions are sacrosanct and which traditions can be abandoned for the new ways.

The Bad: This is the stuff that isn't "bad", per se, but that parents might want to be aware of, depending on the age and maturity of the child. Although the theme of "immigrant hardships" is largely ignored, the book does feature two sudden deaths - one a newborn infant, and the second a worker who dies from unsafe working conditions involving a warehouse fire. The imagery is moved over as swiftly as possible, but the concept is disturbing and may be difficult for a young child. One of the daughters routinely sneaks out at night to see her non-Jewish boyfriend. There is never any indication that the young lovers are doing anything more than holding hands and kissing, though. Lastly, depending on how "orthodox" your religious beliefs are, the mother can come off as an unsympathetic character. She routinely and openly alienates several members of the family for not being religious enough. Although this issue is resolved by the end, the mother can come across as caring more about her religion than about her family, depending on your own point of view.

I love the Dear America series of books and think that they are a wonderful way of inculcating a love of history amongst younger readers [8-12 years old]. In "Dreams in the Golden Country", we are introduced to 12-year-old Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish immigrant in 1903 New York City. The story, written as usual in a series of diary entries, traces Zipporah's life in the city for about a year and a half - her family life, her problems and how she copes in an alien environment. It is a riveting and poignant tale.

At the end, there is a historical note on the persecution of Jews in Europe that caused large migrations overseas, especially to the US. There are also many historical photographs, documents, a Jewish recipe and song etc that enhance one's knowledge of the Jewish culture. All in all, highly recommended!

Bought this for my tween daughter. She really likes to read books with an historical perspective. Would recommend for ages 10-12.

Have you ever encountered a book for young readers so good that it gave you goose bumps? This is such a book.

Told through the viewpoint of a twelve-year-old Jewish immigrant from Russia living on the Lower East Side of New York City, we see the very real struggle of people who came to America to find a new life, but struggle over giving up the old. Despite the fact that this is a fictionalized diary, the author provides us with an intimate look into the sometimes painful personal experiences that make up our history as a whole.

No matter what your own family's history might be, we can learn from the experience of Lasky's incredible characters.

Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America) is a book to be savored and cherished.

I thought the book was awsome. I couldn't put it down there was no part that was boring. I recccomend this book to every one. i read it so fast and i want to read it again